Alcohol Glassware No Belle Of Balls

March 15, 1985|By Sue Rusche.

Q--I was looking over the faculty mail this week and came across two high school prom catalogues: Anderson`s Prom Catalogue 1985 from White Bear Lake, Minn., and prom souvenirs by Moderne from East Liverpool, Ohio. As a parent and teacher I find both catalogues` promotion of wine glasses, champagne glasses and beer mugs as gifts for a high school prom most inappropriate and upsetting.

Conscientious people are working to educate young people about the dangers of alcohol, and here are two companies promoting glassware for alcohol to students who haven`t reached the legal drinking age. These companies should carefully weigh where their values lie. What do you think? I have written both companies and asked them to remove our school`s name from their mailing list. A--I think you are right, particularly given statistics showing that one of the worst times for teenage automobile fatalities is after proms and graduation celebrations.

I also think you did the right thing by writing the companies and telling them how you feel. My guess is both will find other souvenir lines to promote to teenagers now that there are only a few states left where the drinking age is still 18.

Q--You recently wrote a column that explained the difference between commercially available cinnamon-flavored toothpicks and oil of cinnamon. This was apparently a follow-up to an earlier column about the dangers of cinnamon oil, which I missed.

How I can get a copy of the original column? My son had friends over and one boy brought a bottle of the oil. I did not realize it could be dangerous and would like something to give the boys to read about it.

A--A number of readers have written asking the same question, so here`s a summary of information about cinnamon oil.

Oil of cinnamon is one of a number of volatile oils that are poisonous in quantities of more than a few drops. Ingestion of as little as 15 grams (a little over one tablespoon) can cause coma or death.

It is quite safe to use a few drops as a flavoring agent in cooking. The problem comes when school children buy the oil, dip cotton swabs or plain toothpicks in it and then suck on them. If a little bit tastes good, children may reason, then more ought to taste better, right? Wrong. We`ve had several reports from teachers and parents about youngsters who have gotten into serious medical trouble by swallowing too much cinnamon oil--and too much was just a little more than a few drops.

My advice is to keep the volatile oil out of the hands of children. Buy them commercially flavored toothpicks to suck on instead. These must pass rigid safety standards set by the U.S Food and Drug Administration.

On another subject, I have sometimes compared the opinions of physicians who treat the victims of drug abuse with those of Dr. Andrew Weil and Winifred Rosen, as expressed in their book ``Chocolate to Morphine,`` which is being promoted as an appropriate ``drug education`` text for school children. My remarks drew a response from Weil, whose letter I published in a recent column. Below are two readers` reactions.

Stick to your guns and keep giving it to people like Dr. Andrew Weil, who would have us believe that their writing is just the facts, unemotional facts. I have never read so much hogwash as I did in his letter.

And another:

As a mother it infuriates me that people like him try to come across so

``informed`` and ``detached`` and ``just presenting the facts.`` You were so right when you said that his facts were just his opinions.

A--Thanks for writing and thanks for your kind words. Unfortunately, in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary--from scientific research, from experts who treat drug dependency, from victims undergoing rehabilitation and from those who have recovered--some people still try to justify their use of drugs by claiming they have benefits.

The following letter, which deeply concerns me, is from a reader who uses mind-altering drugs. He seems to have closed his mind to any evidence that he may be hurting himself, and he uses Weil`s opinions to reinforce his drug use. That fact alone ought to at least worry Weil and Rosen. But for them to market their book to innocent schoolchildren in the name of drug ``prevention`` is reprehensible.

Here`s the letter:

``After reading your letter from Dr. Andrew Weil relating to his book and your response, I feel a need to express an `educated` opinion. Yours seems to be an opinion that all drugs are bad for all reasons except those which the law allows to be prescribed by physicians for illness.

``As with anything, drugs can be harmful if misused, especially by children. But as a free-minded adult I feel there are many things mind-altering drugs can be used positively for. By mind-altering I don`t mean barbiturates or heroin. I do mean some mind-expanding drugs such as pure LSD

(not what you might find on the street), marijuana and other hallucinogens.

``With such drugs one can look at the world not in the very narrow frame of mind we are brought up accepting but in an atmosphere in which these walls are temporarily knocked down. One can understand things in new ways well after the drug is out of the body.``

Address questions and comments to Sue Rusche, care of King Features Syndicate, 235 E. 45th St., New York, N.Y. 10017.